Different person
by Setfiregirl
Summary: Gourry isn't acting like himself, and Lina can't figure out why. Could it really be a different person? L
1. The Unknown Change

"And don't you forget it!" the red-headed sorceress called after the scurrying bandits.

"I thought you were going to blast them?" Gourry asked, confused. ((Which was, pretty normal for him))

It was a few weeks after the defeat of Phibrizo, and Lina and Gourry were on the road again.Amelia was by now back in Saillune, accompanied by a disgruntled Zelgadis, who Amelia had persuaded to accompany her back, insisting that he would be able to search the Saillune libraries for a cure, but Lina had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't the only reason.

"Well, I will blast them, but it's no fun if there's no challenge!" she explained, a ball or red-orange energy gathering in her hand. "_**Fireball!"**_

Gourry winced. He knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of a fireball, and it was _not_ something he enjoyed.

"Ahh, that was fun and satisfying." Lina yawned. "Too bad they didn't have any good treasure on them…Only 10 gold coins and a jeweled bracelet." She said, examining the newfound goodies. "I hope we find a town soon, I hate camping." Lina growled, rubbing the back of her neck "I always get sore."

Gourry hummed ignorantly. "Don't worry, we should be there soon."

"Since when do you know how close we are to a town jellyfish brains?" she asked, sweat bubble appearing.

"Since I can see some building from here. I _am_ taller then you, my range of sight is more." He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, whatever." The redhead muttered. _Why does he have to be so insensitive when he talks about my size? It's not __**my**__fault that I'm small for my age…._

By the time the two entered the inn later that night, they were both starving.

"Waiter! Bring me everything on the menu, triple portions! And make it quick, or I blow this place to bits!" Lina ordered, throwing herself into a chair by the only empty table.

The waiter, seeing that she was serious, hurried to the kitchen yelling out her order.

"Ahh, it feels good to get off my feet." She commented, relaxing in her chair.

Gourry took a seat across from her, sighing with relief, "You said it!"

When their food finally arrived, Lina and Gourry dug in without hesitation, their usual food fight taking place.

"Hey! That's mine!" Lina yelled as her chicken leg disappeared into Gourry's mouth,

"Give it back!" she leaned across the table and attempted to pry his mouth open.

"Ena! Shtop! That hurtsh!" He whined as she dug her nails into his cheek.

The young sorceress stuffed a roast into her mouth grinning. "Fine, then this is mine." She claimed.

After three small injuries, four broken dishes, and six crying waitress's, the destructive pair finished eating and headed up to their rooms for the night.

"'Night Gourry." Lina yawned, opening the door to her room.

"Mhm" was the response as her jellyfish brained protector's door closed.

Lina awoke in the middle of the night to thumps and bangs coming from Gourry's room.

Rushing into his room to see what happened, she saw the blond swordsman standing in the middle of the room holding the back of a man with purple-black hair's shirt, an eerie haze hanging in the room.

"What happened?" Lina asked, taking a step forward to look at the unconscious man.

"I dunno, some guy tried to rob me I guess…." He said, obviously still half asleep.

"Well, throw him out the window or something." She instructed with a wave of her hand, heading back to her own room as Gourry tossed the man out of the window.


	2. The Fight

Disclaimer: Don't look at me like that. I don't own Slayers. Happy now? Happy that you're going to make an innocent girl cry cuz you're rubbing it in her face the fact that she doesn't own her favorite anime? :sniff:

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**Chapter two different person.**

The next day started as usual. Lina and Gourry headed down for breakfast with hungry expressions on their faces.

_Jellyfish brains doesn't seem to be as hungry as normal…_ Lina noted as Gourry let her have his chicken leg without a fuss. _Something is wrong…_

They finished eating earlier then they normally would and started out on the road again.

"C'mon jellyfish brains, hurry up!" Lina called cheerfully to her companion who was hanging back slightly.

"…Call me that." Gourry grumbled, face hidden is shadows, causing Lina to stop walking. "Huh?"

Gourry looked up, anger and hurt in his eyes. "I said, _don't call me that._"

"Gourry...you never seemed to mind before…you could've said something if it bothers you that much…" she mumbled playing with her fiery hair nervously.

"I would think it'd be obvious, who would _like_ being called jellyfish brains?" the blond snapped, eyes burning.

Lina's eyes flashed. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you need to stop before I get mad." She growled dangerously.

"Oh, I see, I'm just supposed to be the loyal sidekick and go wherever and do whatever you want, is that it?" he angrily pushed past her.

The young sorceress grabbed his arm, preventing him from getting by. "Ok, now I'm mad. I never _told _you to follow me, that was **your** choice, so don't go acting like it's _my_ fault." She let go of his arm, but he didn't walk away.

"I didn't think I was offering to protect some flat-chested, short-tempered little midget who's on the top of several dark lords and higher ranking mozoku's hit list." He spun around to face her, voice cold and hard, face twisted with rage.

Lina could only star at him, a stunned look on her face. "Let me make this clear for you Gourry. I never _asked_ you to protect me, nor am I making you _stay._"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them, as it looked as if he just might leave.

"Good, cuz I'm beginning to regret ever making that promises. I don't like to break promises, but I think in this case I will." He turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Lina standing there trying to regain her composure.

The young red-head stood there, a hurt and shocked look on her face. Images of their travels flashed through her head, ending with them by the campfire in the Clare Bible temple desert, Gourry's voice echoing throughout her mind. "I dunno, the rest of my life, I guess…" Tears slowly filled her eyes as she followed Gourry from a distance.


	3. Reunion

Disclaimer: Slayers and it's characters are in no way mine. I don't own them, there is a difference between _wanting_ and _havening_ things...

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I'm sorry about the delay in uploading...I've been slacking off lately in schoolwork and I havn't been able to write much...Hopefully I'll be able to write more later in the story! ' Untill then, please put up with my slow, short chapters

**Chapter Three: Reunion.**

When Lina got to the next town, it was almost dark and she was _starving_. She hadn't been able to find a place to have lunch, and even if she had, she was still to upset about her fight with Gourry to eat anything.

With a sigh, she dropped into a char at an empty table and watched Gourry sit down across the room from her.

"Waiter bring me triple portions of this, this and this!" Lina ordered, barely glancing at the menu.

The waiter scurried off to fill her order as she watched Gourry tell his server what he wanted. She wondered absently how he was going to pay the bill seeing as she wasn't, and she never gave him any of the money she got from bandits.

She shrugged the thought off. It wasn't _her_ problem.

"Ohh! Yummy!" Lina cheered, digging into her food. They had great service here. She had barely ordered when the waiter returned followed by several other servers carrying her food.

After eating (rather inhaling everything edible within sight), Lina looked over again at Gourry who was just finishing his meal.

Making up her mind, the young girl approached the swordsman's table with a determined look on her face.

Gourry looked up, one eyebrow raised coolly.

"All right, I don't know what's gotten into you, I don't even care what's wrong with you, but you're not acting like yourself, and I don't think I like this 'New Gourry'" she informed him, arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, is that so? Maybe you just don't know the real me." He responded, his normally calm and happy blue eyes now icy and distant, a strange purple glint in them.

Lina's heart nearly split in two. "You're right. I _don't_ know the real you. And I just don't think I can travel with some one I don't _really_know." She said in a shaking voice.

"You'll be begging me to come back by the end of the week." He called after her retreating back as she ran up the stairs to the room she had gotten.

A tear ran down his cheek as he watched the girl he loved argue with the man he had once been from a cave. The crystal magical viewing screen glisten and changed scenes, now showing her up in her room crying.

_This is what happens what you let people get close to you. _A small voice inside Lina's head said as she cried into her pillow, tears of pain, anguish and loss streaming down her face.

_Pull yourself together! You're Lina Inverse, beautiful sorcery genius, not some weak little girl!_ Ordered another voice inside her, this one from her heart. Lina sat up. _That's right! I can't let something as little as this break me! I'm the girl who has faced Dark Lords and even death itself without batting an eye!_

She smiled confidently, wiping the tears from her face.

_Yes, but you had Gourry with you then…_ The smile slipped from her face. Shrugging the last thought from her mind, she got up and went to wash her face.

"I wonder where Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are right now…" Amelia said aloud as she walked down the path, followed by Zel, who was looking around with a bored look on his face.

Morning sunlight glinted in between the trees in the forest they were traveling through; birds chirped their happy songs and squirrels ran up and down trees.

"Who knows, they could be anywhere." He replied. Suddenly he stopped walking and tensed, hand on his sword.

Amelia turned around "What's wrong Mr. Zelgadis? Why did you stop walking?" she asked, a puzzled look on her face as she watched him closely.

Zel didn't answer, but instead drew his sword, its blade glowing red. "We'll talk later. I hear voices, and they don't sound friendly." He said, edging forward towards the direction the voices were coming from.

"Give us all the money and valuables you got little girl, and we promises we won't hurt you….Too badly…." A tall dark haired man demanded a dagger in his hand.

A few of the bandits around him laughed, identically evil looks on their faces.

It was impossible to see the girl that the bandits had targeted from Zel's point of view because of shadows from the trees that covered most of the clearing.

"How unjust to attack someone unawares like this! I Amelia Wil Tesles Saiyrun will stop you!" the young princess yelled from where she stood perched atop a tree. "Justiceeeeeee Stikeeeeeee!" She yelled; divine downward to attack the bandits in the clearing.

Zel had finally managed to get a good look at the girl the bandits were trying to rob. _Oh crap, goodbye to the quiet trip to Sairaag I had hoped for. _He thought wearily as he slipped back into the trees to circle around.

With a crash, Amelia landed on the very person she had been trying to save. Everyone in the clearing sweat dropped.

"Aaaaaagh, get off of me!" the girl yelled, trying to push the justice-loving girl off her.

"Ouch! Oh no! I'm so sorry are--" she exclaimed, jumping off the girl on whom she had landed. With a gasp, she exclaimed "MISS LINA!! It's so good to see you again!"

"Yeah, whatever…." Lina grumbled, rubbing her lower back. "What are you doing here?"

Amelia beamed. "Oh, Daddy hired Mr. Zelgadis to escort me to Sairaag on a business trip! We were just heading there when we heard a disturbance and--"

"Yeah, and you being the passionate justice girl you are, you just couldn't let this go by…." Lina finished for her, rolling her eyes.

"So Zel's here too?" She asked, now looking around with interest.

"Yes, I am." The chimera responded, emerging behind them. "Why are these guys not roasted by now? I'm surprised they even got to 'We won't hurt you' before you blasted them.

"Yeah well….Um, hehe…." Lina muttered, a pink blush rising up on her cheeks.

Zel sighed, "That time of the month?" Lina nodded, still a little embarrassed.

"All right, I'll do it then." He said, stepping forward to take out the bandits who were looking thoroughly perturbed at being ignored this way.

"Flare Arrow!" Zelgadis barked, sending several flaming arrows at all the remaining bandits, most of them having run away by now.

Amelia looked around. "Where's Mister Gourry?"

Lina stiffened. "We had a fight; don't expect to see him hanging around me anymore." She said, turning away so that Amelia wouldn't see the pain in her eyes.

"A fight? I never expected you two of all people to fight this badly…." Zel commented, returning from getting rid of the bandits.

"Yeah well--" Lina cut off as she heard footsteps approaching.

A cold look passed over her face as Gourry walked into view. He seemed not to notice their presence as he continued to walk past, not even looking at them.

Amelia and Zel gapped after him. "Mr. Gourry seems like a different person! How could something as unjust as this occur?!" Amelia exclaimed, a justice-ready look on her face.

She turned to Lina. "Miss Lina, what in Chepied's name happened?!" She asked in a voice that meant she had some weird thoughts running through her mind on what could have happened between them.

"I told you, we had a fight." The sorceress said dismissively, a icy look about her usual fiery appearance.

"Must've been some fight…" Zel muttered, glancing between Gourry's retreating back and Lina's cold indifference.

Again, he tried to escape the ropes that held him, but to no avail. They were tied tightly, and without his sword, he could do nothing.

"C'mon, you've got to go something! You can't just let this happen!" he told himself as he struggled against the ropes.

Finally giving up, he turned back to the magical viewing screen and watched Lina, Amelia and Zel head for the nearest town.

_To be continued..._

Again, I'm horribly sorry for the shortness of the chapters. (They really do seem longer in a notebook...) Most of this was done at nearly midnight and by flashlight under the blankets. (Hey, I'm only 13, I have to get to bed by 10:00 u.u) Please review!_  
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	4. Tears in her eyes

Disclaimer: Slayers is not mine. Nor our the characters. However, I do own the story plot and dialog, they are original unless I somehow read a story in my sleep and took in everything then used it while role-playing with my sister. The point being, I don't own Slayers.

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Okay, Sorry for all the delays, this is taking longer then I expected...I originally only saw it as a three chapter story, but now I'm on four chapters and only two thirds of the way through... Enjoy, Please Review!!

**Different person, chapter four**

"I still don't believe Mr. Gourry would say such things!" Amelia cried, shock clear on her face. She looked as if she was going to burst into a justice speech.

Lina sighed and rubbed her temples, "Well, he did, and I'd rather not talk about it."

They were still hours away from civilization, and Lina was getting more and more annoyed at Amelia's protests and constant justice rants.

"But still--" she was cut off by Lina's growing red glow, a warning sign.

"Just drop it Amelia. I don't want to talk about it!" she growled, her aura now matching her hair, a positively dangerous look on her face.

Amelia backed into Zel. "A-All right…" The frightened girl said hesitantly stepping forward to resume their journey.

Lina sighed. The truth was, everything Amelia said was true, Gourry _wouldn't _something like this, so why was he? It didn't make any sense.

They continued on in silence, Amelia still trying to figure out what was wrong with Gourry; Zel his moody, quiet self and Lina bitterly trying to forget the past three day's events.

About an hour later, a small group was revealed to be standing up ahead of them. It seemed another group of bandits was holding up a traveler.

Amelia jumped forward, ready for action. Lina held out a hand to stop her. "Wait…Is that… It couldn't be..." Lina said, eyes narrowed.

A bone-chilling laugh confirmed Lina's suspicions as to who the victim of the hold up was.

"You dare try to rob me, the most powerful sorceress to walk this world? That mistake will be your downfall, Oh hohohoho!" The woman threw back her head and laughed, a hand covering her mouth in that fashion that Lina had grown to hate so.

"Ice bullet!" the leather-clad woman called causing the unfrozen bandits to flee as fast as they could, no doubt back to their hideout.

Lina, despite herself walked forward, a small smile upon her face. "Wow, you haven't changed at all Naga…"

Naga spun around, eyes wide. "Lina?! Why, I haven't seen you in years!"

Lina grimaced. "Yeah, and here I was hoping it would be more like 200 years instead of 2…."

"Don't be so…." Naga didn't finish her sentence, her eyes falling upon Zel and Amelia. "Oh? Pick up some new companions, Lina? Why don't you introduce us?" Naga's eyes lingered on Amelia's face.

Lina sighed dejectedly. "Naga, this is Zelgadis Greywords, a friend I met a few years ago….It's a long story…." She gestured at Zel halfheartedly.

"And this is Princess Amelia Wil Tesles Saillune; I met her and her dad a year and a half ago on the road."

It was then that Lina realized that Amelia wasn't looking at Naga, but instead over the tall, busty woman's shoulder, a cool look on her face.

Slightly confused, Lina continued, not noticing the flash of recognition in Naga's eyes.

"Zel, Amelia, this is Naga the white Serpent, a former traveling partner of mine."

Amelia finally shifted her gaze to Naga's faces, the cold look still in her eyes, but there was another emotion too….

Naga took a small step towards Amelia

"Amelia…I-" she started, the most gentle look on her face that Lina had ever seen.

"Nearly ten years, and you didn't even send _one _letter, Gracia…Why?" Amelia asked, a pained look on her face, the hurt clear in her voice.

"G-Gracia? What?" Lina stuttered, looking between Amelia and Naga. Zel looked just as confused.

Naga bent down so that she was on eye level with Amelia. "I am so, so sorry, can you ever forgive me for running away like that?" she pleaded, a tender look on her face.

This more then anything shocked Lina. Naga had never _once _used that tone of voice, Lina hadn't thought her capable of such emotions.

Amelia finally smiled. "Of course I couldn't stay mad at something like that, I'm just glad you're all right!" she said as she hugged the older woman.

"All right, sorry to interrupt, but could we _**back up some?!**_ Amelia, how do you know Naga, and Naga, how do you know Amelia?!" Lina nearly yelled in the two's ears.

"Of course I know her, she's my _sister!_" the young girl explained.

Lina looked between the two girls. Sure they looked a lot alike, but _sisters?!_ Suddenly it was too much, and Lina figured that the ground was a nice place to sleep, and then everything was black.

cCcCcCc

"Miss Lina? Are you ok?" Amelia's worried voice broke through Lina's daze.

Slowly she opened her eyes to see that she was still sitting –ahem- _laying_ on the road; Amelia, Zel and Naga bent over her looking concerned.

Rather, Zel was bending over her, as close to a worried look as Lina had ever seen on his face. He still looked as confused as she felt.

Upon seeing Lina regain consciousness, Naga laughing again, this one in triumph. "Oh hohohoho! The great Lina Inverse, fainting like a little girl? Oh hohohoho!"

Amelia promptly backed away and took cover behind a tree. Zel looked as if he would rather jump off a cliff then stay where he was.

Slowly he moved backwards to where Amelia was cowering.

Lina twitched, her eyes hidden in shadows, hair falling in waves around her face. "Naaaaaagaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

It was then that Naga became aware of the blackish-red glow that Lina was emitting; she stopped laughing, a scared look now on her face.

Lina kicked. _**Hard**_

Naga screamed as she was sent flying by Lina's oh-so-familiar-attack.

Amelia stepped out from behind her tree, all danger having passed.

"Miss Lina, did you really have to?" she scolded, a worried expression on her face.

Lina waved her off. "Oh, she'll be fine; she's used to it by now."

Naga soon emerged from the bushes where she had landed. There were twigs in her and her clothes (what little she was wearing) all askew.

"_That_ was for not telling me you had a sister" Lina smirked, arms crossed. "Much less that you're the crowned Princess of Saillune! You got off lucky."

Perhaps it was the fact the she felt guilty about not telling Lina, perhaps it was because she _did _get off lucky, maybe it was both, but Naga didn't say anything about it. Instead, she turned to Amelia.

"So where are you three headed?" She asked, looking them over.

"Well, originally Mr. Zelgadis and I were on our way to Sairaag on a business trip that father sent me on, but then we met up with Miss Lina, and, well…" Amelia's voice trailed of and she looked at Lina

"We were headed for the next town when we saw you." Lina finished for Amelia. "You're hard to miss, I can hear you a mile away…" She added under her breath.

"I see….Well then, I, Naga the White Serpent shall escort you to the next village, as you'll need my help with the bandits. Seeing as Lina can't use magic" Naga laughed again.

Zel cringed at the sound.

"How did you--" Amelia started.

"Please, I've traveled with Lina enough to know why she didn't use a spell back there. That time of the month, Right?" Naga asked, a teasing look on her face.

Lina sighed and nodded. "Well then, shall we?"

Amelia started after her older sister who was already walking down the road ahead of them.

A small grin crossed Lina's face. _Maybe being back with Naga won't be so bad after all. I mean, those were the good old days, no freaky demons following me, no crazy plots to blow up the world, just pure fun. _

"Wait up!" Lina called, running to catch up.

cCcCcCc

Darkness was falling as they headed into the into get rooms.

"'m sorry Ma'am, won only have three rooms left, that gentlemen over there got the other one." The innkeeper said apologetically, nodding in the direction of a man sitting at the bar.

His back was to them, but Lina would recognize that golden-yellow hair anywhere.

_Why does Gourry keep showing up?_ Lina thought as she told the innkeeper they would take the rooms. _I thought he said he wasn't going to travel with me anymore…_

It wasn't that Lina minded him still being around, but it gave her a weird feeling, the way he kept appearing when she didn't expect it.

"Lina!" Naga snapped her fingers in front of Lina's face in an attempt to call her back to the world of the living. "Amelia and I are sharing the room with two beds, you and Zelgadis get your own rooms."

"Okay, I'm going to put my stuff into my room and then eat. Be right back." The red head answered, turning and walking up the stairs.

Dinner that night was war. Lina stole from Naga who retaliated by grabbing Amelia's last bite of spaghettis.

Amelia, now fighting too, tried to grab Lina's chicken leg, but had to stop to defend her soup from Naga's fast approaching spoon.

"Gotcha!" Lina yelled happily as she munched on the piece of steak she had snagged from Naga's plate while she was occupied trying to steal food from Amelia.

Naga attacked with her fork and Lina defended with her own while at the same time helping herself to Amelia's meatballs with her other fork.

Zel paid no attention to the fork that bounced off his head and continued to drink is wine from the bar next to them.

"Ahh, that was tasty!" Amelia said, dabbing at her mouth with her napkin, now remembered after the food war was over.

"I'm going to get something to drink." Naga said, pushing her chair back from the table and heading to the bar.

Lina leaned back and patted her bulging stomach, satisfied. Then what she saw made her heart stop abruptly.

There, up at the bar, was Gourry. Talking and laughing with _Naga_.

Amelia must have seen the red glow coming from Lina, because she followed Lina's glare to where Naga and Gourry were sitting.

"Gracia!" Amelia hissed, jumping up and running over to the bar.

Naga looked away from Gourry for a split second. "Oh, hey." Her words were slurred and she was obviously already drunk. "What are you doing here? You're too young to drink Amelia," she said with a disapproving glance at her.

"I'm not over here so I can drink; I'm over here to tell you…" Amelia glanced nervously at Lina, who was still emitting a foul glow that caused several fellow customers to try to get a room and another inn.

"You can tell me later. I'm talking to someone." Naga tried to push Amelia away but she wouldn't budge.

"Graciaaaaa!" Amelia chanced a look over her shoulder at Lina only to discover her not there.

Looking around frantically, she saw Lina storming up to her room, and she could've swore she saw tears in her eyes.

Well, what do you think? I don't much about Naga, so I just did the best I could...(I've only seen two of the OAVs) If you read this and don't give me some reviews, I'll track you down and guilt trip you...


	5. Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers. Sad but true. I know that there's at least 100 more people out there who want to, and none of us do. Thus the name Fanfiction. Duh

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**Different Person- chapter five.**

With a ferocious growl, Lina kicked the door shut behind her as she entered her room.

_What is wrong with Gourry? He was flirting with _Naga! _There was obviously something wrong with him._

_And something wrong with me too….Why should I care what he does anymore?! It's not like I'm traveling with him now….He made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to be around me…_

The sorceress groaned and kicked the bed in frustration.

Despite the pain in her left foot, she felt better now that she'd relived some of her anger and stress.

Lina plopped down on her bed and began punching her pillow to vent the rest of her emotions.

_That feels a _little _better… If only I could use magic, then some bandit hunting would be nice… _she thought as she tossed her mutilated pillow to the ground and lay down on her bed.

"Stupid, _stupid _Jelly fished-brained _idiot!_ Why does seeing him with Naga upset me this much, _why?!_" Lina asked the darkness as she lay there on the bed.

_Because you l—_She shook the thought from her head. She'd promised herself that she wouldn't fall in love…but…

"My guess would be it bothers you because you love him." An annoyingly familiar answered her question.

Lina shot off the bed. "Xelloss! What in Cepheid's name do you want at this time of night?!"

"Oh, just the usual, to feed off of the anger and pain you feeling right now!" the mysterious priest hummed from where he floated above her dresser.

"Sorry, I'm not a restaurant! Get out before I blast you to bits!" she ordered, pointing out her window.

"An empty threat, you can't use any powerful magic right now." His smile became wider-if that's possible- and he opened one eye eerily. "You can't make me leave against my will" Xelloss chirped.

Lina raised on eyebrow. "Oh, not _against _your will….Then I'll just have to make you _want_ to leave." She smiled brightly and filled herself with all the good emotions she could. The redhead hummed and then began to sing a cheerful little song about elves and fairies that she had heard Amelia sing once.

The effect was amazing. Xelloss turned first white as a sheet, then a horrible shade of green. He tried to phase out, but Lina was too quick for the weakened Mazoku, and she soon had him in a firm headlock.

The annoying priest didn't resemble his usual self anymore; by the time Lina was done with him…Well, he wasn't even a pile of _**goo**_ anymore.

She watched with satisfaction as the purple and yellow glob shifted and phased back the Astral Plains to recuperate.

After Xelloss had left, she let the happy emotions to drain from her body as she thought back to the words the Mazoku had voiced. She had been thinking the same words when he had spoken them aloud.

A scowl crossed her face as she dropped once more onto her bed. _Curse you Xelloss, why do you have to be able to read minds…_

Lina sighed and got ready for bed. She would just have to keep ignoring her feelings for Gourry. It was clear that he didn't return them.

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"_Gourry! No! GOURRYY!" the redhead screamed and ran after the swordsman. "No…Gourry…" _The vision slowly faded as Gourry disappeared and Phibrizo laughed coldly.

The scene changed, then Gourry was encased in a giant crystal beside Amelia, Zelgadis, Zangulus, Slyphel, and Martina.

"_Hmm… I know…Let's start with _him_. Unless you do something, he is about to die."_

_Lina's face went chalk white and she gasped._

"_No? All right then…" the yellow laser shot straight at the crystal holding Gourry. With a soft cracking sound, the crystal began to crack_

"_Gourry!" Lina screamed. _I don't care who I get if from, give me the power to kill Phibrizo. If I can do that, I don't care what happens to me.

"Darkness beyond the blackest pitch,

Deeper then the deepest night.

King of darkness who shines like gold upon the Sea of Chaos,"

_If I lose control of this energy, I could destroy the world, but right now, I chose Gourry over the entire world. Please, give me the strength I need._

"I call upon thee, swear myself to thee.

Let the fools who stand before me,

Be destroyed by the power you and I posses!"

_A giant black ball of energy arose and Lina lifted it above her head. Suddenly she screamed, the ball of chaos taking another shape. It spread and grew, consuming all it touched. _

"_Yes, roam free and destroy everything!" Phibrizo laughed madly before he too, was consumed by the chaos._

_Lina's eyes filled with tears and she sank to her knees, unable to control her shaking._

"_I--I--"she buried her face in her hands and sobbed._

_Screams pierced the night as all that the sorceress know was destroyed._

_The last thing Lina Inverse saw, was the blackness consuming the people she had considered her family. Last, Gourry's blank face disappeared from view._

"Gourry…No…NO!"

Lina sat up with a yelp and shivered violently. Slowly she got to her feet, whipping her eyes as she went.

_Just a dream…You didn't lose control of the Giga Slave…Everything turned out all right. Well, almost everything…_ She consoled herself as she walked to the window and looked out. She blinked.

Someone was walking out of the forest towards the inn. Slowly Lina's eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw a mane of golden hair.

_What is Gourry doing up and about at all hours of the morning…And in the forest too._

She stood there for a few minutes watching Gourry advance. _You can't just let him go like this…Not after that dream…_

As Gourry approached the door to the inn, Lina jumped out her window and used the remaining energy she had to levitate herself to a safe landing so as not to hurt herself.

The swordsman stopped abruptly. "And just what could you want at this time of night?" he asked in that same cold, harsh voice.

"I want to know what's wrong with you. You're acting totally cold and distant. And if that wasn't bad enough, last night you were flirting with _Naga!"_ Lina hissed, taking a step forward.

"And why does it matter to you?" he asked, also taking a step forward, "we're not traveling together anymore; it has nothing to do with you."

Tears blinded Lina's eyes at the tone of voice he said the last words in.

"It matters to me because…Because I love you!" Lina blurted out, not thinking about what she said. She clapped a hand over her mouth and took a step back.

"I'm sorry; I don't return those feelings _Miss Inverse._" Gourry replied, stressing the last two words as he pushed past her through the door.

With a chocked gasp, Lina wrapped herself in a hug and sank to her knees; sobbing out what was left of her heart.

Silently, Lina cursed herself a thousand horrible deaths.

_Why did you have to tell him?! Even if you never knew, it would have been better then _this.

Lina flinched as she remembered the indifferent tone of his voice. Yes, there was emotion; but it was hate in his voice when he had spoken the words that had broken her heart into a million pieces; making it impossible to put them back together.

Lina cried into the night, and only when the clouds let out a downpour of rain did she finally move from her position on the ground.

Slowly, she dragged herself up and went back to her room. Sliding back into bed, she wondered if she would ever recover from the heartbreak. It was near dawn by the time Lina fell asleep again, and she was in no condition to be getting up any time soon.

cCcCcCc

"Lina…Lina…" was all he could say, tears streaming freely down his face.

Slowly he began to call upon the energy that had always been there, but never used, chanting the words he had heard Lina use so often.

"…_Be destroyed by the power you and I posses! Dragon SLAVE!"_

The power that came forth was more then he had expected, yet not enough to cause major destruction; however, it served its purpose.

Standing amongst the rubble of the cave, he smiled. Ignoring the fatigue that swept over him, he started off for the village.

cCcCcCc

Amelia frowned as she ate her breakfast. It wasn't like Lina to be the last down to eat, and it was already 8:oo in the morning.

"Where's Lina? She's sleeping later then usual…" Naga commented, voicing Amelia's exact thoughts.

Zel frowned into his mug of coffee. "I was wondering the same thing actually."

"I'm going to go check on Miss Lina!" Amelia volunteered loudly, pushing her chair back.

Naga winced. "Could do please not shout? It's giving me a worse headache." She complained in a soft voice.

"It's your own fault you have a hangover! Princesses shouldn't get drunk, it's unjust!" Amelia sniffed and went upstairs to check on Lina.

"Miss Lina? Are you awake?" The young princess asked in a worried voice, knocking softly on Lina's door.

No reply came.

"Miss Lina? Are you okay? Miss Lina?" Again she knocked.

Again, no reply came.

"Miss Lina, I'm coming in" Amelia announced in a determined voice. Slowly, she pushed the door open and stepped in.

The curtains were drawn, making it dark in the small room.

Amelia walked toward the bed with caution, as it was a _very_ bad idea to wake a sleeping Lina abruptly.

The lump on the bed shifted slightly and then stopped. Somehow during the night, Lina had managed to twist the blankets into a knot and knock both pillows off the bed.

As Amelia apprehensively stepped over the pillows –one of them oddly deformed looking—she observed Lina's sleeping face. _Some people may call Miss Lina the walking force of destruction, but obviously, they have never seen her sleep. She looks like a peaceful little girl. _

As she watched, Lina's face changed. "No…Come back.. Don't.." Lina's voice was soft and scared, but still loud enough for Amelia to hear.

_I've never hear her seem so fragile! She sounds…She sounds like she did when Hellmaster Phibrizo took Mr. Gourry…_

"Miss Lina?" Amelia asked again, putting a hand on the sleeping girls shoulder.

Lina's eyes shot open and she struggled to contain her emotions. "Amelia?" she croaked, trying to sit up.

Amelia pushed her back down. "Miss Lina, you don't look the slightest bit well, you should get some more rest. I'll bring up some food later, okay?"

"But I'm--" Lina fell back down onto the bed, unable to hold herself up anymore. "Okay, I'll rest." She weakly agreed, already drifting back into a fitful sleep.

cCcCcCc

Visions of Lina's past traveling experiences flashed though her mind as she slept on into the day.

Vaguely she was aware of Amelia coming up to check on her temperature, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to turn back time and keep herself from chasing Gourry away; keep herself from breaking her heart, but she doubted that possible.

_Still, something doesn't fit. Why was Gourry out in the forest at 2:00 in the morning; Why is he acting so cold and distant; if he doesn't care for me, why did he accompany me for so long; and most importantly, WHY did he come after me when the Lord of Nightmares tried to take me away…_

The questions floated around, unanswered, through Lina's head as she slipped in and out of slumber.

cCcCcCc

"Lina's sick? What's wrong with her?" Naga asked in concern when Amelia came back downstairs to tell them that they would have to stay another night.

"I don't know Gracia…..She has a high fever and can't sit up for very long…" the young girl wasn't used to seeing Lina in such states; usually only after life or death situations did Lina act this way, and she would sleep for a day of two and get up only to eat.

_I don't think Mr. Gourry has left yet…..Maybe I can go talk to him about his and Miss Lina's fight since she won't tell me…_

The day passed with little or no excitement. Amelia, Zel and Naga took turns checking on Lina and visiting the local library, both for Zel's benefit and to do research on Lina's illness.

Amelia also tried to talk to Gourry, but every time she got near him, he would walk away or just plain ignore her.

cCcCcCc

Sometime around midnight, Lina's fever broke and she crawled out of bed. _It's dark out…I slept the whole day. _She noted as she stared out the window, eyes softly taking in the view before her.

_Gourry…_

Finally, Lina went back to her bed and stared at the ceiling. Just as she was falling asleep, there was a small noise outside her window. Lina sat bold upright. _What's that noise? _Silently cursing herself for not being able to do magic, the redhead stood up and crept to the window.

She threw open the window and looked out as the cool night breeze greeted her. Lina leaned out the window to look. Seeing nothing, she turned to go back to bed upon the assumption that it was just a stray cat or something, when the tree outside her window moved.

Yes. The tree _moved._

Lina blinked and looked closer. Actually, the tree didn't move, someone _in _the tree moved, but it was dark out, and it _looked_ like the tree moved.

Lina blinked again. There, nestled in the tree, was the man who had tried to rob Gourry four days ago.

"What in—Who are you?!" she demanded, hand slightly drawn back, ready to attack.

The man gulped and hesitated.

"What are you doing at my window at one in the morning?!" she repeated, a dangerous look on her face.

"I—Lina, you're not gonna believe me but…." He paused and ducked the punch she'd sent his way.

"Who do you know my name?! And _who __**are **_you?!" she now almost yelled.

He glared at her slightly, "I was about to tell you when you attacked me, thankyouverymuch."

"Well, go on!" She ordered while drawing her hand back again.

The man whispered in a soft voice, eyes pleading. "I-I'm Gourry…"

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_**Well? Sorry about the late update, I usually update on Fridays, but I had a lot of pages to type up and it was 1:30 in the morning… Please send me reviews and I'll give you a cookie! Oh yeah, and when I said Xelloss wasn't even a pile of goo anymore, I meant it. He turned all gooey and then evaporated….hehe **_


	6. Discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers or any of it's characters, so it's no use trying to sue me...I'm just a poor 13 year old girl who doesn't even get an allowance...

Okay, sorry for the late update...I usually update every friday, but I havn't been very inspired and I've been hooked on a book or books for a while, and I just finally found enough time to overcome my writers block and get started on this chapter. Enjoy!!

As promised, Lady Dark Angel gets a cookie for her encouraging review which inspired me to make the long journey of typing up the next chapter. :gives cookie:

Also five cookies and three slices of cake for Gerao-A for their wonderful reviews on all of my chapters and all of my stories for that matter too...:) Thank you so much!!

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**Slayers, Different Person, chapter six.**

Lina raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Not expected; hoped." His eyes were full of pain and sorrow. "Lina…please…" Something in his voice made Lina pause. Her mind was reeling. There was no way this was Gourry, but still…

"If you _are _Gourry, and I mean _if_, how did you get like that?" she demanded while trying to figure out if this was indeed Gourry.

"I—I don't know…" he whispered, a pleading look still on his face. "Lina, I promise I am Gourry, I just don't' now how to convince you."

Lina's face was thoughtful. _If I ask him a question only the real Gourry would know…but what? There's no grantee that if this _is _Gourry, he would remember…_

"Um, Lina? You've been standing there thinking for a while now…" he commented, nervously shifting his weight as he watched Lina.

"I'm fine, just thinking." She muttered, running a hand through her hair. _That's it! _Lina was hit by a sudden stroke of inspiration. She turned her attention back to the man who claimed to be Gourry.

"What did I do to destroy the piece of Shabranigdo that we fought with Zelgadis?" Lina demanded.

A look of puzzled concentration crossed his face as he tried to remember.

"Uh, I think you…" suddenly his face brightened as he remembered. "You used my sword and cast that big Gaga Slave spell on Shaderbingo!" he announced proudly.

"_Giga_ Slave, thankyouverymuch." She corrected him forcefully. "So, what's the last thing you remember in your own body?" she asked, motioning for him to enter her room.

He looked a little surprised and at the same time happy. "You mean you believe me? But I answered the question wrong, I said Gaga instead of Gega Slave…"

Lina grinned. "The question was a trick. You said _Shaderbingo. _The only person who says that is Gourry Gabriev." She explained in triumph. "The only one stupid enough…." She added as an afterthought.

"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Gourry complained as he dropped into the room.

"Yes. You are."

He put on a pouting face. "Am not."

"Alright, moving on…" Lina reminded him sternly. "What's the first thing that happened to you in that body?"

Gourry's face screwed up in concentration. "Uhh…let's see…I remember I was sleeping in that one inn room, and then there was a noise outside the window. I went to see what was going on and there was some guy outside the window. He jumped in and there was a struggle….Then I think there was a flash and some smoke and the next thing I know, I was laying in a cave all tied up."

Lina sat down on the bed. "Flash you say?" she soon became lost in her thoughts. "Hmm, flash, smoke…" the sorceress mumbled while running a hand through her hair. "Bodies switched…"

Gourry sat at the foot of the bed and watched hopefully as Lina continued to mutter to herself.

Finally, Lina broke the silence. "The only thing I can think of is it was a full-body-mind switch, which takes lots of skills to cast."

"Do you know how to counter it?" he asked half-heartedly, already knowing the answer.

"No" came the crisp reply.

Gourry's shoulders sagged slightly, but he recovered quickly. "Well do you know someone who can reverse it?"

Lina shook her head sadly. "If I did, I wouldn't've spent the last half hour just sitting here thinking."

"Oh"

Rays of sunlight were starting to make their way across the horizon when Lina's stomach grumbled.

"When was the last time you ate?" Gourry asked in amazement.

"Uh, I think I had some soup yesterday…" she admitted as she stood up and rubbed her growling belly.

Gourry raised an eyebrow. "You _think_ you had some soup _yesterday_?" he looked like he was going to say something else but he never got the chance as _his_ stomach growled and there was a knock at the door.

"Miss Lina? Are you alright?" Amelia's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Uhh, just a sec Amelia!" Lina answered as she pushed Gourry to the bed. "Get under the bed and don't say anything."

"But why?" he asked as he was shoved roughly under the bed.

"Cuz I don't want to explain all this to Amelia, that's why. So just stay quiet!" she hissed as she draped the blankets over the edge of the bed in such a way that they covered Gourry completely.

"Miss Lina? Are you alright?" the young princess's voice held more concern as she tapped on the door again.

_Did I hear Miss Lina talking to someone? _She wondered as Lina's footsteps announced her approach.

The door opened to reveal Lina in her pajamas with her hair in a mess; oddly enough, she looked wide-awake.

"You look better Miss Lina!" Amelia exclaimed cheerfully as she stepped into the room.

"Yeah, I guess all I needed was a good night's rest." Lina laughed. "But I'm starving!" she exclaimed as her stomach growled again.

"So I noticed…" Amelia sweat dropped.

There came another growl, though this one came from the bed. "What was that?!" the dark-haired girl jumped back in alarm.

"Uh, just my stomach growling!" Lina lied, grabbing Amelia's arm and leading her towards the door. "Let's go feed it!"

Amelia looked over at the bed and blinked. _Did something under the bed move?_ She shook off the feeling as she headed out the door. "I'll order for you while you get dressed." Amelia offered from where she stood outside the door.

"Just have them send it up here." Lina instructed with a glance at the bed.

"All right." Amelia closed the door and headed downstairs to complete her task.

As soon as the door was closed, Lina breathed a sigh or relief. "All right, come out Gourry."

He did so and rubbed his back with a groan.

"When was the last time _you_ ate?" she accused as she stepped into the washroom to change.

"Uh, three days ago was the last time I got a decent meal…I've been living off of bread and water since then." Gourry grumbled as he sat down on the Lina's bed.

With another sigh, Lina came back into the room, now fully dressed. "Amelia's probably not going to order enough to feed the both of us, and if I order more she'd get suspicious…"

"Oh, Miss Amelia will find out one way or another." An annoyingly cheerful voice interrupted.

"Agh, I thought you were dead for sure this time!" Lina whined as Xelloss' grinned widely.

"Oh, no, just out of commission for a while." He chirped as he sat on the bed next to Gourry. "Hello there Gourry! How's it going?"

Lina blinked and then narrowed her eyes. "How long have you known and how did you find out?" she demanded through gritted teeth.

"Now Lina, that is a--" he stopped in enough time to dodge the pillow that was aimed at his head.

"You know Xelloss; I've always wondered how a Mazoku such as yourself can be so maddeningly cheerful, when, by all means, it _should_ make you sick of yourself." Lina said angrily, but was saved the trouble of hearing his famous catch phrase by the knock on the door.

Xelloss instantly disappeared and Lina shoved Gourry under the bed once again.

"Miss Inverse? I have your food." A voice stated from the hall.

"Finally!" Lina made a victory sign as she rushed to the door and opened it.

Standing just outside of the door was two maids, each with a cart full of food. The two women pushed the carts inside and unloaded the food on a table. Once finished they hurriedly scurried from the room, slamming the door behind them.

"Yum, this is great!" Lina cheered with hearts in her eyes as she dug into her meal.

Gourry crawled out from underneath the bed. "Lina, can I?" he pleaded as he watched her eat.

"Sure, help yourself!" she gestured at the food. "Wait, not that, gimme!" Lina made a grab for the slice of bacon that was making its way towards Gourry's mouth.

Just as Lina was about to snatch yet another morsel of food from Gourry's plate, there was another knock on the door.

"Eep! Ah, just a second!" Lina called as she pointed towards the bed. Finally Lina stumbled to the door and opened it a crack.

"I see your better…" Naga said as she pushed the door open the rest of the way and looked in.

"Uh-huh. Amelia was up here before, didn't she tell you guys?" Lina tried to block Naga's vision, but instead, the busty young woman pushed past Lina and into the room.

"No, as a mater of fact, she didn't say anything. She went for a walk a while ago." Naga informed her while munching on a piece of Lina's toast.

Lina looked at Gourry's hiding place and then went over to Naga; but before she could say anything, Naga spoke again.

"I heard voices, what were you doing Lina?" she asked as she walked over to the bed.

The redhead gulped. "Wh-what are you talking about?" she stuttered.

"I've known you long enough to tell when you're lying. What are you trying to hide?" Naga asked, now crossing the room and bending down so that she was eye to eye with Lina.

"I'm not lying! I wasn't talking to anyone, we're the only ones here!" she protested as Naga sat down on the bed.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say…" the older girl laughed. "It's not like there's someone _under the bed _or anything.

Lina gulped and laughed nervously. "Yeah, not like anyone would be hiding under the bed…"

Suddenly Gourry sneezed. Lina froze and Naga lifted an eyebrow.

"Did the bed just…Sneeze?" she asked, eyebrow still raised. She moved to look under the bed.

"No, that was me! Hehe, I guess I'm not as healthy as I thought, maybe I should go back to bed!" Lina hurriedly lied and ran over to the bed.

"It didn't sound like a girl's sneeze, it sounded like a man's sneeze. I mean, I know you look like a boy, but you don't sneeze like one." Naga laughed again and looked under the bed.

"Ah! Oh, never mind." Lina muttered and flopped down on the bed as Naga sat up.

"Lina, there's a man under you bed, and he doesn't look too much like the boogey man. Care to explain?"

"Yeah, sure why not." Lina sighed. "All right, come out already."

Gourry crawled out from under the bed and sat back down at the table to finish his -well actually _Lina's-_ breakfast.

Lina started explaining what was going on, starting at the beginning with how she met Gourry. She skipped over most of the details and didn't mention the fights she'd had with the fake Gourry.

When she was finally done, Naga let out another hair raising laugh. "Why Lina, you should've just come straight to me, I happen to have knowledge of these kinds of spells"

Lina leaned forward eagerly. "Really? So you know how to break this curse?" Gourry looked up from his food.

"Hmm, yes, of course it do!" she laughed again ((**A/N** man, she does that a lot doesn't she?)) "And I'll help you too…_If_" she paused and Lina gulped, knowing what was coming "If, you'll admit that I'm the better sorceress!"

Lina groaned. "Nagaaaaaa, please get over it!"

"Hmph, I don't see why I should. After all, I am your greatest and most powerful rival! Oh ho ho ho ho!"

"Shut it Naga!" Lina ordered. "Just tell me how to break the spell and you get to leave this room unharmed."

Sweat rolled down Naga's cheek_. She may not have her magic right now, but she's still deadly without it…looks like I have to tell her._

With a sigh, Naga started to explain. "Since the body and soul -or for better words, mind- are connected by the spirit, any damage done to one body is immediately inflicted on the real owner. In other words, if you attack this body, it damages the real Gourry's body" Lina nodded and Gourry blinked. "So you have to attack Gourry's real body and it will harm this body. It's impossible to die in a foreign body, so once you 'kill' the other guy, he'll be forced to return to his own body."

Gourry still looked blank. "I don't get it. who gets hurt when who's attacked?"

Lina gulped. "It means if I were to do this--" she pulled out her dagger and held it next to the puzzled man's wrist. "--it would harm the blue-eyed, blond-haired body that you belong in. So if I 'kill' or stab that body, it's going to harm this purple-haired body that you're in now, which is the man's (let's call him Fred) 'Fred's' original body, and since as Naga said, even if you switch bodies, you will automatically switch back to your own body and die." Lina took a deep breath. "Get it now?" she asked in a hopeful voice, praying that for once in his life, Gourry would listen and understand what she had just said.

"Hmm..." Gourry paused, thinking. Finally his face brightened. "Nope, not one bit!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

Lina sighed. She had been expecting that. _Even in a different body, he still lacks the ability to retain information…but he looks so cute when he-- _Lina shook her head vigorously, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. It was neither the time nor the place for those kinds of thoughts.

"But what I do understand is that if we attack my original body then we'll switch back, which is what I want." Gourry declared as he finished his breakfast.

Naga gaped at him. "How could you not understand the conversation and still get what needs to be done? It's impossible!"

He just shrugged. "I just do." Naga shook her head in a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

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Author's note. Well sorry again for the late update...I have written more past here but I couldn't type it up tonight cuz my fingers are already numb and I'm making to many mistakes as it is. I'll hopefully have the new chapter up for any of you who want more...One more thing...If you read this and don't review (and yes I'll know, it's a little thing called the stats page), I'll track you down and give you the puppy eyes...(haha, yes I would do that) For those of you who _do_ review, I'll start handing out cookies and cake - **Edited 4/6/08 for mistakes**


	7. Righting the Wrongs

I am soooooooo sorry for the late update...It took me like three weeks just to write the chapter, then I was extremly lazy and didn't want to type...So here is the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **Syerrah: 'Do I have to?'

Julia: 'Yes, go on.'

Syerrah: sigh 'I don't own Slayers or any of it's characters. There.' sniffles 'happy?' goes into clasic anime style gloom mood

Julia: 'Yes'

Angela: 'Julia, that wasn't nice; now Miss Syerrah is crying.' pats Syerrah on shoulder

Julia: 'Feh, crybaby.' Angela pulls out a katana 'okay okay, I'm sorry!'

Angela: 'Good' turns to readers and puts sword away 'Sorry about that, Julia wanted us to write an Inuyasha fanfic, so she was trying to depress Syerrah away from Slayers for a while.'

Olivia: 'Sorry, we havn't introduced outselfves yet. I'm Olivia, I'm quiet, shy and gentle. I'm called the 'sweetest of the bunch''

Angela: 'I'm Angela, I'm alot like Olivia, only I'm more outspoken and I carry a katana around (which is named Himitsu Kimotchi or Himi for short) so I can keep Julia in line'

Julia: 'I'm Julia. I'm hyper and random and nothing like those two, cuz I'm the best.' Angela swings Himi at Julia 'er, that is, I'm the best at what I do...which is randomness and crazyness.'

Syerrah: '...' traces circle in the dirt with finger

Julia: 'Oi! Your turn!' pokes Syerrah

Syerrah: 'Huh? Oh, I'm Syerrah (pronounced Sierra) I'm kinda inbetween Angela and Julia...I'm bubbly and funny and me and Julia sometimes like to pull pranks.' Grins mischevioulsy

Angela: 'From now on, we'll be appearing in the author's notes and on our profile page. We'll even be in some reviews. Blame all the bits of randomness and stuff that doesn't make sense on Julia over there. We try to keep her away from the chapters, but sometimes she finds her way to them anyway.'

Syerrah: 'As to who the original personalitly is, our lips are sealed. Or most of ours are anyway...'

Julia: 'Acctually, the original personality is--' Angela tackles Julia 'Eheheh, guess my lips are sealed too...' mouths '_come back later, I'll tell you'_

Syerrah: 'On with the story! That's what you're here for, right? No? Then why _are _you here? Surley not to listen to Julia and Angela argue...'

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Olivia: Stands in waitress outfit. 'Okay, time for cookies!'

Yokai Summoner Gets a cookie for their review! Yay to you!

Timmyspwolf Also gets a cookie. I'm not gonna track you down, you reviewed in time for me to not give you puppy eyes n.n

Linni-Kins Cookie for you!! Yup, Gourry understood the explanation. He's getting intelligent.

Gerao-A Yay! Another review! Cookie!! Thanks for all of your constant reviewing! And I checked, and Air Jay didn't mention anything about him suspecting a body switch...It don't count unless you say it. :p

**_Thank you all for your encouraging reviews that keep me going!_**

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**Different Person, Chapter Seven.**

**Righting the Wrongs. **

"Lina? Liinaaa!" Gourry called, waving a hand in from of her face "are you okay?" he asked.

"Fine, fine, just thinking" Lina assured him and stood up to pace. _If I'm supposed to attack 'Fred' then I'm gonna need some help….but to tell Zel and Amelia...Zel will laugh and Amelia will rant on about how 'unjust' it is to not recognize your true friends…_Lina sighed. _However, I suppose I have no choice _

"Naga, go find Zel and Amelia and tell them I want to talk to them." Lina instructed while rubbing her forehead wearily.

Naga looked like she was going to protest, but seeing the look on Lina's face, thought better of it.

"Why're you gonna tell Zel and Amelia? I thought you didn't want them to know…" Gourry said as the door closed behind Naga.

"I wasn't at first, but we're gonna need all the help we can get. Since this guy managed to switch his and your bodies, he can obviously use magic and his magical power transferred into your original body, so he's gonna be hard to defeat."

He shrugged. "What ever you say."

There was a sharp knock on the door as Amelia, Naga and Zelgadis stepped in.

Zel's eyebrows shot up and Amelia looked confused and slightly unsurprised.

"Who-" Zel asked as Naga closed the door behind them.

Lina sighed. "I'll start at the beginning." She quickly explained everything she knew; by the time she was done, Zel's eyebrows had disappeared into his hair and Amelia was trembling with suppressed emotions.

"See Miss Lina! I knew it wasn't Mister Gourry! Such an Ally of Justice would _never _ignore their friends!" She burst out finally, striking Justice Pose #812 atop the bedpost.

"How did you get here Gourry?" Zel asked, trying to tug Amelia down before she _fell _down.

"Uh, I walked?" Gourry said while trying not to laugh: Amelia had just tumbled into Zelgadis's lap and bother were blushing amazing shades of red.

"And how did you know where to go? We must be at least 15 miles from the inn you last stayed at." Zel pressed, standing up with his face red-well, more purple because of his blue skin.

"As much as I'd love to hear the explanation, we have better things to do." Lina interrupted with an annoyed look on her face.

"Right. Soo…what's the plan?" Gourry asked. "Do we even know where Fred is?"

"Fred?" Amelia and Zel asked at the same time.

"We decided he needed a name. Lina dubbed him 'Fred,'" Naga informed them. "Though I, myself would have giving him something more original, like Nago." She laughed.

"Nago? Have you lost you mind Naga? That doesn't even sound like a name!" Lina groaned. "Not that I can be sure you had a mind to begin with…" she muttered under her breath.

"I still kinda like Fred…though Nago sounds cool too…" Gourry said obliviously.

Zel cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt this debate, but didn't we have something to do?"

Amelia closed her mouth. She had been about to suggest 'Justice' for a substitute name when Zel had stopped the conversation. _Besides, such and evil person isn't worthy of the name 'Justice' they would surely stain it. _She told herself as Lina walked to the window.

"Still," Zel said, "Will this really work? I mean, I'd hate for Naga to have gotten two curses mixed up and told us the wrong way to fix this one..."

Naga opened her mouth to protest, but surprisingly enough, it was Lina who spoke. "I understand that you don't know Naga very well, but I do. And oddly enough, even though she has made that kind of mistake before, I trust her. Something tells me this is the right thing to do."

Naga looked alarmed. "Lina, do you feel alright? Are you still sick?" she put a hand to Lina's forehead. "Your head feels hot."

She soon realized, however, it was not a fever that was turning Lina's face red. "I am perfectly healthy, but if you don't remover your hand, I won't be able to say the same for you." The hot-tempered young woman growled dangerously.

"Besides, I found Fred." She gestured towards the window she had been looking out.

The rest of the group gathered around the window to look out. Sure enough, in the inn's courtyard, 'Fred' was leaning up against a tree with a content look on his face.

"All right, let's go." Lina seethed as she unlatched the window.

"Are you sure about this Miss Lina? What about your magic?" Amelia asked in concern. "Is it back yet?"

"Back enough." Lina replied as she pushed the window open; _I hope._ Truth be told, not all her magic was back yet, but she was counting on that being all she needed.

Lina skillfully leapt from the window and landed quietly on the ground.

Somewhere above her, Lina heard Zel tell Gourry to wait in the room before the chimera jumped down beside Lina.

Of course, Gourry, being Gourry, paid no attention and dropped silently to the ground beside them.

Lina let her face harden as she walked forward. _He's gonna pay. After what he put me through, this guy is gonna wish he had never heard my name._

"Oh? And to what to I owe this…delightful visit, Miss Inverse?" the so-called-Gourry asked in a mocking voice. "Surely I've made it quite clear that I want nothing more to do with you."

Lina's eyes narrowed and she gave him her best death glare. 'Fred' looked a little as if he wanted to back up, but he quickly masked his emotions again. Lina wasn't surprised. Her glares had been known to make everyone from a simple farm boy to a high classed Mazoku take off running.

"Now, in the name of justice, we will defeat you Fred!" Amelia declared as she stepped out from behind a tree.

'Fred' raised an eyebrow. "Amelia, as I'm sure you know, my name is Gourry." He said slowly, as if Amelia wouldn't understand otherwise.

Lina growled and advanced a few steps closer to 'Fred'. "Don't you _dare_ try and say your Gourry, you filthy little piece of trash."

'Fred's' other eyebrow shot up. "Filthy little--now this certainly is a change from what you were saying just the night before last."

"Don't you say another word about that." Lina was now only a few feet from 'Fred'.

"Or what? You couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to, you're too we-" his next words were cut off by a resounding smack that echoed around the courtyard.

'Fred' stumbled backward from Lina with a cry of pain: the fuming redhead had slapped him across the cheek as hard as she could. This was, actually, quite hard.

'If you don't shut it, I'll _make_ you quiet." Lina growled as she started to close the newly formed distance with a menacing look on her face.

"Little wench, you'll pay for-" he fell silent, now looking at something behind Lina. "You." He spat, eyes focused on Gourry.

"Ah, yes, I never did mention it, did I? We know what happened. And we know how to reverse it too. Give it up." Lina advised an evil glint in her eyes.

'Oh, gonna kill me are you? You don't have the heart" he taunted, then addressed Gourry. "Did you enjoy the show? I hope so." He smirked, "I tried my best to make it entertaining"

Lina glanced over her shoulder. Gourry's face was white with anger and his hands were clenched into tight fists.

She faced the front again and resumed glaring at 'Fred'. "Just what do you mean?"

"Ah, yes, I never did mention it, did I?" he mocked, 'I left Gourry a present when I tied him up in a cave." He leaned forward and whispered in Lina's ear. "A vision spell. Focused on you."

_A vision spell…focused on me? Gourry heard and saw everything?!_ Lina's face went pale. 'Fred' leaned back, a smug look on his face.

_Everything? Everything?! Even when I yelled at him? Even when I said…? _"You filthy piece of trash!" Lina crouched slightly and kicked 'Fred' in the stomach. At least, that's what she _tried_ to do. Gourry's reflexes appeared to have remained in his body and it was easy for 'Fred' to block her blow.

He caught hold of Lina's ankle and twisted her leg, causing her to fall.

Lina used her hands to break her fall. _Crap, this is going to be harder than I thought…._

"Demona crystal!" came a call from behind Lina. 'Fred' jumped back to avoid being hit by Naga's spell.

Lina quickly got to her feet and whipped a trickle of blood off her cheek from where she'd been cut by a rock. "Who are you anyway?" she demanded in a deadly tone.

His face darkened. "My name is Daimiss Roulif, a member of the Gabriev outcasts."

"Wha--" Lina gaped.

Again, Lina glanced over her shoulder at Gourry. His face showed surprise.

"Long ago, before the swordsmen of light defeated Zanafar, there were two brothers: Safron Roulif Gabriev and Denimer Lauds Gabriev. The two were identical twins.

"As their mother died in childbirth and there was no midwife, no one knew who was older." Daimiss started, eyes fixed on Gourry

"Their father, who possessed the sword of light at the time, was very fond of both his sons, and was thus forced to chose which should inherit the sword and with it, the family legacy.

"The time came, on the twins sixteenth birthday, when their father mush pick who to give the sword. His favor changed many times, from as little a thing as who brought him a book, to as large a thing as whose sword skill was greater at the time."

His eyes blazing, Daimiss continued, "Finally, the father made his decision. It has been long since forgotten what caused his decision, but the one he chose to inherit the sword of light was Denimer Lauds.

"Furious and jealous, Safron Roulif took every opportunity to try and take the sword. Finally, when he realized it was hopeless, Safron left. Not one word to his family, he up and ran off, promising himself he would not rest until he hand the sword, which he'd convinced himself was his by birthright.

"He married and started a new family, and formed a new clan, not finding the Gabriev name worthy of association with himself.

"Safron had four kids, three girls and one boy; he gave all of them the surname of 'Roulif' and they in turn passed it on to their kids. And in the way, the great Roulif family was formed.

"Safron Roulif was my great, great, grandfather, and I too, have been bestowed upon the name of Daimiss Roulif." He paused, eyes glinting.

"What does this have to do with us?" Gourry asked suddenly, stepping forward to stand next to Lina.

Daimiss stepped closer as well. "everything." He moved so he was nose to nose with Gourry. "If Denimer Lauds -your great, great, great grandfather- hadn't wrongfully inherited the sword, Safron wouldn't have been cast into exile; and I wouldn't be the second best swordsmen on this planet. I'd be the best."

Lina pushed Gourry behind her. "Fool, you might have the name of the best sword family on this planet, but Gourry would still be the best." She snarled angrily.

Daimiss's face darkened. "We'll see. Now that I have this body, I'll travel around and disgrace the Gabriev name. Then Roulif name will get the glory it deserves!"

"Hmph, as if" Lina snorted. "The name 'Roulif' already has all the glory it deserves. None."

"Trying to disgrace a family name to satisfy your own greed is selfish! I Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune will stop you!" Amelia yelled from the top of a tree where she was perched, standing in Justice Pose #483. "Justiceeeee Strikeeeeee!"

Daimiss easily dodged Amelia's dive and kneed her in the gut, sending her flying into the wall of the inn.

"Amelia!" Zel and Naga cried at the same time.

Naga's eyes flashed as she stepped up next to Lina. "Freeze arrow!"

"Fireball!"

"Whaa--" for it was not Lina or Zel who cast the spell, it was Daimiss. He caught Naga off guard and the glowing ball of fire hit her square in the chest.

"Crap." Lina hissed. Amelia and Naga were out of commission and Zel was taking care of them; Gourry was out of the question, there was no way he could fight, his body (the one he was in) would soon be too badly damaged for him to do anything. So that left just Lina.

Let's end this. Gourry, go stand by Zel." Lina ordered, pulling out her dagger. When Gourry hesitated, she shot him a look. "Do it!"

"Planning to fight me on your won? What a brave girl. But it won't be enough." Daimiss sneered as he unsheathed the sword of light.

Lina growled menacingly. "Thief, how dare you use Gourry's sword?!"

"I am Gourry new." He laughed. "No one can stop m-" he cut off and dodged Lina's dagger.

He sliced at Lina who managed to block with her dagger. "You'll _NEVER_ be Gourry." Lina said angrily as she stabbed at him.

He deflected it with ease. He kicked at her legs, hoping to put her off balance. "I am Gourry." He laughed. "What's this? Why aren't you using magic?"

"I don't need to!" she lied, plunging her dagger into his sword arm.

Daimiss grunted in pain, but taking advantage of Lina's lack of defense, disarmed her. Grinning with triumph, he swung his sword up to Lina's neck, only to find Lina wasn't where she was a few seconds ago.

An arm snaked out of nowhere and grasped the hilt of the sword. "You're so dead!" Lina used her other arm to take a hidden dagger from her boot.

Daimiss lunged back, but it was too late. "Shadow Snap!"

The dagger just managed to pin the edge of his shadow. "This makes things easier." Lina tugged her other dagger from the tree where it had struck.

Lina moved back to Daimiss and gritted her teeth.

"Are you going to kill me?" he asked, managing to imitate Gourry's. His eyes filled with tears as he pleaded. "Lina…You're really going to kill me?"

_He…He looks…He looks like Gourry…..I can't… _Lina's arms dropped uselessly to her sides. _I-I can't do it….I can't kill him…Gourry…_ The dagger fell from Lina's hands as she stared into Daimiss's face.

"You shoulda killed me when you had the chance." Daimiss laughed, his shadow slipping out of reach of the dagger. He lunged forward and stabbed at Lina.

"Lina!" Zel, Gourry and Amelia yelled.

The sorceress gasped as pain shot through the right side of her gut.

Lina opened her eyes to see Naga facing Daimiss with her back to Lina.

"Naga, you…?" Lina whispered in confusion.

The older woman looked over her shoulder and quickly faced forward again. "Are you all right?" She asked in a shaky voice.

Lina looked down at her stomach. Blood was pouring from her wound and dripping onto the ground.

_That's right…Naga can't stand the sight of blood…_Lina remembered, realizing why Naga had looked away from her so quickly.

With much pain and her legs shaking, Lina struggled to her feet.

"You've really done it this time! Trying to imitate Gourry to stop me from killing you….despicable!" Lina put one hand on her wound and staggered towards Daimiss.

"Lina…" Naga breathed as Lina unsheathed Naga's sword and, with great difficulty, managed to hold it steady.

Lina ignored Naga's attempt to warn her and charged forward, brining her -or rather Naga's- sword around in a sweeping motion meant to disarm Daimiss.

It, however, failed to accomplish said objective. Daimiss blocked easily with an arrogant smirk. "I don't need to imitate anyone to stop you from killing me. You're too weak to even scratch me." He hissed. Their swords locked together, causing Daimiss and Lina's bodies to press together in an effort to push each other back.

"Is that so?" Lina challenged.

It was only then that he realized his mistake. Lina had managed to push Daimiss backward into a tree and at the same time, lever the sword of light away form her body.

_Crap, my vision is going blurry. Better finish this quickly. _Lina thought.

With a gulp, Lina pulled her sword back quickly and lunged under Daimiss's guard, stabbing him directly in the heart.

The sword of light dropped from Daimiss's lifeless hands as he fell backwards. It was odd, seeing someone receive an obviously fatal wound, a sword protruding from his or her chest, yet no blood.

Lina squeezed her eyes shut and turned around. As angry as she had been over the arguments she had had with 'Gourry' she watch him die right before her eyes. She loved him too much.

There was a strangled gasp and a bluish flash of light.

Lina opened her eyes a squinted at where Daimiss had lain. The blond man was sitting up and looking down at his hands.

"G-Gourry?" there was a questioning hesitation in Lina's voice as she spoke her companion's name.

He looked up and Lina searched his eyes for that glimmer that was always there.

He smiled, causing his eyes to sparkles and Lina's heart to melt.

Lina felt her knees give out as she started to fall. At the last moment, Lina stopped falling and launched herself into Gourry's arms, sobbing.

Gourry blinked a few times and then started to stroke Lina's hair gently as Zel helped Amelia to her feet.

Naga turned to Zel and Amelia. Let's go inside." She said with a pointed look at Lina and Gourry. "Right, it would be unjust to watch them." Amelia agreed.

Sometime after the two princesses and the chimera disappeared into the inn, Lina looked up at Gourry, her face streaked with tears.

"Gourry… what all did you see in the vision spell?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Gourry hesitated. "Everything" he sighed finally.

Lina turned her face away.

"I'm sorry." She whispered after a long silence.

"For what?" Gourry asked, surprised.

Lina tugged on a lock of her hair. "For-for the stuff I said…y'know…"

"Is that what you're worried about? The things you said to the other guy?"

Lina turned back to face Gourry. "At the time…I thought I was saying those things to you…" she bit her lip, turning to look at a tree. "Are you mad?"

"Do you still mean them?" Gourry put a finger under Lina's chin in turned her head to face him again.

Her ruby eyes were filled with tears again.

"No, of course not." She said softly.

Gourry smiled. "Then no, of course I'm not mad" He said just as softly.

Lina let the tears leak out of her eyes as she buried her face in Gourry's chest.

"Can we- Can we just stay like this…for a little longer?" her voice was muffled by Gourry's shirt but her heard her perfectly. "Yeah," he murmured, stroking her hair again. "Yeah…"

* * *

Syerrah: 'Just so as you all know, there _will _be an epiloge, so just wait for it...if it's not up by the beginning of June, don't expect it to be up till July, cuz we're gonna be gone on vacation.'


	8. Epilougue

**Disclaimer**: Slayers does not, and never will, belong to me. -sigh-

Julia: Well, here's the next chapter! I -ahem- we, hope you enjoy it! Please review! Okay? Okay? Please review!

Mysterious cloaked and hooded black figure: -throws rock at Julia and hits her in the back of the head- 'shut up' -walks off-

Angela: That was Reina...she's dark and moody...and hates it when Julia get's hyper...She only comes out when it's either night or early morning when we're waking up, so she won't usually show up.

Syerrah: Sorry for the late update! We were out of insperation...This last chapter was really hard to do...

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

**- Epilogue -**

After what seemed like days, which was probably only about ten minutes, Lina sighed and pulled away.

"Let's go inside, I'm hungry." She said as her stomach growled.

Gourry chuckled "all right, let's go"

He stood up and tugged Lina to her feet. Together they walked into the inn where Naga, Amelia and Zel were sitting at a table: Amelia and Naga were eating, Zel was drinking coffee.

Lina slid into a chair next to Amelia and signaled for a waiter.

"So Gourry, one question you never answered. How did you get out of that cave?" Lina asked, sitting back in her chair.

"Oh, that…." The blond-haired swordsman sat down across from Lina "I blew the cave up with a Dragon Slave."

Everyone at the table -except Naga- froze and stared at Gourry.

"You….YOU _**WHAT?!**_" Lina, Amelia and Zelgadis exclaimed at the same time.

Gourry blinked and repeated himself. "I blew up the cave using a Dragon Slave."

"How--" Amelia started

"--In Chephied's name--" Zel said, still staring in disbelief at Gourry.

"--DID YOU MANAGE TO CAST A _**DRAGON SLAVE?!**_" Lina thundered. Naga looked up from the act of stealing Amelia's bread roll.

"Gourry!" Lina said threateningly. "Since _when_ can _you_ of _all people_, use magic, let alone the _DRAGON SLAVE?!_"

Gourry paled and flinched back. "I've always been able to use magic!" he hurriedly explained.

This, however, made things worse. Lina's eyes were closed and when she spoke next, she was straining to keep her voice even. "Then _why_ did you never **mention it**?!" she said, her appearance calm except for the vein that was throbbing on her forehead and the twitching of her eyebrow.

Lina's calm appearance, however, did nothing to ease Gourry's fear. If anything, it intensified it.

"I, ah, that is to say…uh.." he stuttered, pushing his chair away from the table.

Lina stood up and put her hands on the table, leaning closer to Gourry. "That is to say…What?"

"I didn't wanna learn magic. To be honest, making things go 'boom' isn't all that appealing to all of us." Gourry said, still backing away from Lina.

"Speak for yourself." Naga and Xelloss said at the same time.

"Gracia! Blowing things up is unjust!" Amelia exclaimed, paying no attention to the purple-haired Mazoku who had just materialized next to her head and was now floating cross-legged in mid-air.

Naga blinked and looked at Xelloss. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm just a mysterious traveling priest!" he smiled.

"Who floats in midair and can appear out of nowhere? I think not. Who are you really?" she asked again

Xelloss opened one eye. "Now that is a secret!"

"Pay no attention to him, he's just a high ranking Mazoku who likes to randomly appear and annoy us. He's Beastmaster Zelas's General/Priest." Zel told her, still sipping away at his coffee.

"Aww, Zelgadis! It's no fun when you tell them who I am!" Xelloss complained, frowning slightly.

"Oho ho ho ho!" A Mazoku?! You dare show your presence in from of me, Naga the white Serpent?!" the mentioned obnoxious, immodest, _loud_, sorceress declared, striking her favorite pose to laugh in.

Lina sighed. "I'm going to bed." she announced as she stood up.

"But it's not even dark yet." Amelia said, confused.

"I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." Lina turned and headed up the stairs.

Gourry frowned as he watched Lina go. After a few minutes of contemplation, he got up and followed Lina.

When he reached her room, he paused. _I wonder what's wrong with her…She didn't even finish her dinner, let alone stay for desert._

Slowly he reached out and knocked gently on Lina's door.

* * *

Lina sighed again as she walked to the window in her room and looked out. _Now what? Gourry said he saw everything, and that would include when I told Daimiss -who at the time, I thought was Gourry- that I loved him, right?_

Lina stared out at the courtyard where they had fought Daimiss.

It was starting to get dark now, and the wind blew in the open window and tossed Lina's hair around as she continued to think.

There was a soft knock at the door and Lina exhaled. "Who is it?" she called, never moving her eyes from the window.

"Me." Came the soft reply.

Lina stiffened. "Come in"

* * *

Gourry opened the door slowly and watched Lina turn around to face him while running one hand through her hair.

"Hey." She said shortly, and then motioned for Gourry to sit on the bed.

Lina put her elbows on the windowsill and leaned back as the wind once again blew Lina's hair into her ruby eyes. She brushed her hair back impatiently and watched Gourry cautiously.

_She looks beautiful like that…_ Gourry thought to himself, eyes never leaving Lina's face.

"Lina…" Gourry started as Lina turned around to continue gazing out the window.

"Yes?" she replied quietly.

Gourry bit his lip, then continued. "Lina, there were some things you said…some things you said to Daimiss that I wanted to ask you about."

Gourry could see Lina stiffen. "What things?" she whispered.

"The night before you got sick, he was coming out of the forest and you went outside to talk to him…and you said…you said--"

Lina cut across him. "I said I love you. Yes, I meant it and I still mean it." she spoke in a shaky voice and her back was still to Gourry.

Gourry stood up and joined Lina at the window. "Is that a bad thing?" he asked quietly.

Lina looked at him, eyes glossy and almost scared, "is it?"

Gourry put a finger under Lina's chin, preventing her from looking away.

"Not unless you think it is." He murmured, turning her face up to look at him.

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked into Gourry's sparkling blue eyes. "Lina..." he said softly, "I love you too. I can't remember a time when I didn't"

"Jellyfish, why didn't you say so?" she said just as softly, face unconsciously drifting closer to Gourry's.

"I didn't know how you'd react…"

Gourry's lips up against her's cut off any reply Lina might have had.

Lina slid her arms around Gourry's neck and he pulled her closer by wrapping his arms around her waist.

When they finally broke apart minutes later, Gourry started to stroke Lina's hair slowly. "Will you marry me Lina?" he whispered quietly

Lina's eyes were blinded with tears of joy "Of course! What took you so long to ask me, yogurt-for-brains?!"

Gourry grinned happily. "Let's go tell the others."

**The End!**

* * *

Julia: Yahahah!! That IS how it ends...yes, it's very sudden and YES it is the end...

Olivia: Unless you review and tell us if we should do a follow up chapter in which Lina and Gourry tell the others...

Syerrah: But if we do that, it won't be till July or so, cuz we're gonna be gone on vacation till the end of June.

Angela: We have another story written, it's a one-shot (a fourteen page oneshot...) about Filia and Xelloss, and we'll upload that when we get back, okay?

Julia: Untill then, YOU'RE DOOMED TO WAIT! MWAHAHAHA!!

Reina: -throws Himitsu Kanashi at Julia- 'I told you to shut up.'

Syerrah: -sweatbubble- 'well, ja ne! till later!'


End file.
